IMHO you find them aesthetically pleasing, interesting i.e. nice to look at or touch, you understand they are important etc. - but you do not love them. Love is also about your strong need to be around something or someone. If it will be taken from you or this need of being around kept unfulfilled, you will suffer emotional pain. I doubt you will suffer it if you will not take the weekend trip to zoo every few weeks. You are free to define it otherwise, but for me what you have described (even if it is a positive indication about you) is not love.
Tbh I have heard this reasoning many times - I am certainly not stating that you are the same or even similar to that person in this regard, but many years ago I had an aquaintance in my group of college friends that had a small apartment (no mortgage) bought by parents, that was close to her work. She loved attending cultural events, going to movies, taking trips around the world, attending parties with her close circle of friends. She also liked to tell everyone that she loves animals (and liked memes about them) but never had any dog or cat, arguing usually that her apartment is too small and that she does not have the time to take care of any animals. Her parents were successful professionals, definitely intelligent people, they had a dog. In spite of that, she did not have any need for animals around herself, and what's interesting, struggled at deeper side of emotional communication often. Objectively, she had all the means to take care of at least one animal, she has just never preferred to take any. Due to the deficiencies in EQ over the years she has struggled with her career which never really took off despite theoretically having excellent conditions for much more positive outcome.
In the same time I was renting a room and took a cat from shelter (before I went to college in my parents house were always some animals - cats or dogs) eventhough my rent for the room was about 40% of my first work salary at that time. I could not take fancy trips, and after some time (eventhough I love that cat, took it with me for short trips, played with her a lot) I had to leave the cat at my grandparents house which she loved when I visited them with her (I got a good contract opportunity far away from my previous city, and taking her with me would be very stressful for her and I would have to leave her alone for many hours, her life would change). Cats are little bit more about places they know than ppl they know when compared with dogs. So I left my little best friend at the best place I could at that time (grandparents house she loved) eventhough it was painful for me. I have visited her and my grandparents many times after that. Years later, I took another cat. Pain of not having and not being able to maintain living beings around me that I wanted at that time (including the girl I loved) motivated me to change my life, I got a good job eventually, understood myself better in the meantime - I also understood that I need a cat (again). My cat is probably not the smartest being in the world (but I prefer to defend his rebellious behaviour in front of my wife) but its sitting next to my shoulder right now when I write these words and I talk to this little guy about various things. Sure he does not understand anything I say except that I need him and I like to spend time with him, but I need this emotional connection with other species to feel happy and complete.
Regarding dirt or animals getting something dirty at home - tbh things getting dirty is perfectly normal. Everything wears out after some time - whether it is fresh paint on the walls, your clothes (btw. bye bye my old italian coat) or human flesh itself. In the "great scope of things" it does not matter even if it is annoying. If you objectively have means to take of any animal, you should do it. It changes life for better.
